A few times I’ve mentioned the revolution. I’m not interested in taking up arms or starting any great war. I’m much more interested in the idea that we can change the way things are done in an effort to create a more beautiful world. I’m not terribly concerned with world peace or poverty as much as I am concerned with beauty. I want everything we see and do to be beautiful. One way to do this is through literature. There are many ways to think of literature in the effort to better the world, but today I heard of the newest effort by a publishing house I love, Flatmancrooked.
Flatmancrooked has been doing some interesting things since their inception in 2007. Their LAUNCH program is inspiring and innovative.You should go read about it, and then participate.
It’s their newest program that I am interested in today. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the future of the physical book. As the Kindle and the Nook and iPhone and now the iPad become ever more popular in the field of literature, people have begun talking about the death of print. Indeed, the internet is aflame with people already mourning the loss of print. I am with the thinkers who believe that print will never really die–that as long as there are readers there will be physical books. The book, to me, is as necessary as the words printed therein; the text can exist elsewhere (the internet, ebooks, fax bombs) but the reading experience is intrinsically different with different mediums. The future of the physical book is uncertain, but Flatmancrooked’s ZEB ensures that the book does indeed have a future.
The Zero Emission Book is attempting to redefine how books are promoted and, more literally, made. James Kaelin is the author of We’re Getting On, the novella at the center of this remarkable project. We’re Getting On is printed on 100% post-consumer content, and the cover is made from a paper containing spruce seeds. If you’re wondering if you can plant that book, well, the answer is yes. And that’s just what Kaelin will be doing as travels across the country next summer promoting We’re Getting On. A copy of his book will be planted in each city he visits, and if seeds work the way I’ve been led to believe, in the future a spruce will grow there.
To promote his book, Kaelin will be biking cross-country giving readings and signing copies of his book along the way. Keep your eyes on the website for details as they arise. The tour will wind its way (slowly, I imagine) from Los Angeles to Boston next summer. Invite Kaelin to read at your book store or library along the way. After all, it’s only polite since he’s invited all of us to ride with him as he makes his way East.
